Four months ago, a mystery began to unfold in the quiet town of Rexburg, Idaho. Two Idaho siblings, 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, were seen for the last time on September 23. JJ was unenrolled from his elementary school the next day, just three weeks after he started there. Lori Vallow Daybell, their mother, said she planned to homeschool the boy.
Lori never reported her two children missing, but a call for a welfare check came in November after concerned family members contacted authorities. Grandparents Kay and Larry Woodcock said they last spoke to JJ in August. At the time, it seemed like someone else was holding the device during the less than one-minute long call. They used to speak frequently, FaceTiming regularly, but never heard from him again.
Kay and Larry's concerns come from the mysterious circumstances surrounding Lori and husband Chad Daybell's relationship. For one, the two are believed to be involved in a religious group with some problematic and cult-like beliefs and behaviors. There are also three deaths surrounding this story, those of both children's fathers and that of Chad's ex-wife. The children are believed to be in real danger, with Lori and Chad unwilling to cooperate.
The story surrounding the disappearance of 7-year-old JJ Vallow and his 17-year-old half-sister, Tylee Ryan, begins way before the last time the two were seen in September. In fact, the children seemed to be around to witness some of the peculiar circumstances that are playing into the investigation into their whereabouts.
The story begins with Lori Vallow Daybell, their mother. Lori has been married five times and has three children— JJ, Tylee, and 23-year-old Colby Ryan.
The story begins in 2006 when Lori married fourth husband, Charles Vallow. She came to the marriage with Tylee, the daughter of her third husband, Joseph Ryan. Joseph would die of an apparent heart attack in 2018.
Lori and Charles later adopted JJ, who is the biological grandson of Charles’ sister Kay Woodcock, who is married to Larry Woodcock.
The family was average, by all accounts. In 2014, they moved to the island of Kauai in Hawaii, where they started a small business together. They moved back to the mainland between 2016 and 2017. It was around this time that Lori started getting involved in a new religious group. Family members noted the change in her.
In a Facebook post in December, Kay wrote, "Things started changing over the past 18+ months when Lori began spending all her time with a new religious group, that we refer to as a 'cult.' She eventually deserted my brother & JJ for 2.5 months early this year."
During this time, Lori discovered books published by Chad Daybell, which spoke of religion and apocalyptic scenarios. She appeared on a podcast called Time To Warrior Up with Chad in December 2018.
Two months later, Charles filed for divorce from Lori. In the divorce papers, he stated that Lori believed she was "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020," according to AZCentral.
Just a few months later, Lori Daybell’s niece, Melani Boudreaux, filed for divorce from her husband, Brandon Boudreaux. Brandon believed Melani was also involved with a cult-like group.
Lori and Charles' divorce would never be finalized. In July of last year, Lori's brother, Alex Cox shot and killed Charles in what he claims was an act of self-defense. In August, Lori moved with the children, Alex, and Melani to Rexburg, Idaho.
In September, Lori enrolled JJ in school. He last attended on September 23. The next day, Lori unenrolled him, telling officials she'd homeschool him. Tylee was also last seen around this time.
In early October, Melani's ex-husband, Brandon, was nearly shot in the head by a drive-by shooter. The car was registered to Charles Vallow, who had been dead for months. A few days later, Chad Daybell's wife, Tammy, called the police and said a masked man shot at her with a paintball gun.
Ten days later, Tammy was dead. She was said to have died in her sleep, but investigators now believe the death is suspicious.
Within weeks of Tammy's death, Chad and Lori were married. Rexburg police say that Chad told witnesses to the marriage that Lori had no children. Lori also allegedly told people Tylee had been dead for years.
On November 26, a welfare check was performed. Neither Tylee nor JJ were at the home. Lori said JJ was with others in Arizona, which investigators determined to be false.
In mid-December, Alex Cox also died a death that has been determined to be suspicious. In late December, the search for JJ and Tylee went public. Police believe the disappearance is linked to Tammy's death and possibly Alex's. The next day, police named Chad and Lori as people of interest.
In a statement on December 30, police noted the lack of cooperation on the couples' part. "Lori Vallow/Daybell, the adopted mother of Joshua and the biological mother of Tylee, has completely refused to assist this investigation," Rexburg Police Chief Shane Turman wrote.
"We know that the children are not with Lori and Chad Daybell and we also have information indicating that Lori knows either the location of the children or what has happened to them," the statement continues.
"Despite having this knowledge, she has refused to work with law enforcement to help us locate her own children, Lori Vallow has chosen instead to leave the state with her new husband." The remainder of the statement calls on the couple to do the right thing and cooperate.
Local investigators teamed up with the FBI to recover items from the Rexburg residence with a search warrant. In early January, Larry and Kay Woodstock held a press conference regarding the whereabouts of the children. They offered a $20,000 reward for any information.
"These are beautiful young children. They’re two extremely intelligent young children, and we want them back. We want them back in our family," Larry said. "We don’t say the ‘D-word.’ We don’t want to and we’re not going to because we truly believe and we hope and pray these kids are alive."
Lori's older son, Colby, has posted videos to his YouTube channel pleading with his mother to cooperate. "You have the power to end this," he said in one video. "You have an opportunity to put this all to rest. I know that it's hard maybe for you, maybe it's something you don't want to do. I really, really want to see Tylee and JJ. I really want this to be over."
Chad's estranged brother, Matt Daybell, has also spoken out on the situation. "I have not been close to Chad since childhood. My immediate family has had little association with Chad the last many years due to our concerns with his religious claims and particular books he had chosen to publish, including his own," he said in a statement.
"We are deeply saddened at the recent events that have played out the last several months," he continued. "It is our hope and prayer that JJ and Tylee are safe. We want for the truth to be found – whatever that truth turns out to be. Neither I nor my wife and children have any more information than what has been reported by the news media. I plead again for Chad to come forward and cooperate with the investigation so that this very difficult situation might be resolved."
Another turn in the case came over the weekend when authorities in the Kauai Police Department pulled over the couple near a beachside resort. Police served the couple with a court order that they have until Thursday to produce the children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare or face legal action.
The public is encouraged to come forward with any information relating to the case. JJ is a 7-year-old with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 4 feet tall and weighs 50 pounds. Tylee is a 17-year-old with blond hair and blue eyes. She is 5 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds.
The Rexburg Police Department asks anyone with information regarding the children's whereabouts or welfare to contact the department at 1-208-359-3000 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST.
Larry and Kay have also launched a website, FindJJandTylee.com.
